MEDICAL MARIJUANA / A TOUGH ROAD

The effort to legalize the medical use of marijuana in New Jersey has
been a long, tough struggle.

The legislation was drafted to be the strictest in the nation. It was
passed a full two years ago and signed into law in the final days of
the Corzine administration.

The Christie administration delayed writing regulations to implement
the law, and it wasn't until November that the Department of Health
and Senior Services finalized the state's rules.

Now, efforts to bring medical marijuana to sick people who need it are
facing another unfortunate hurdle. Nonprofit groups trying to find
places to grow or distribute legal marijuana are up against local
residents who don't want such facilities in their towns.

Unlike medical marijuana statutes in California or Colorado, which are
loose enough to allow for widespread abuse, New Jersey's law
delineates which diseases marijuana can be prescribed for and limits
distribution to six nonprofit dispensaries, each of which must undergo
an extensive application process, including criminal background checks
of all employees.

But none of that matters if there is no place to situate a
dispensary.

An Eagleton poll released in November showed an overwhelming majority
of New Jersey residents - 86 percent - were in favor of making medical
marijuana available by prescription. Apparently that approval doesn't
extend to wanting a distribution center or greenhouse in their
neighborhoods.

Earlier this month, the Land Development Board of Westampton Township
in Burlington County rejected a proposal to house a medical marijuana
facility in a vacant factory building.

In December, Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County adopted an
ordinance that would prohibit any medical marijuana facilities.

In October, the Zoning Board in Maple Shade, Burlington County, denied
a variance for a dispensary in a former furniture store.

So far, only one dispensary, in Montclair in Essex County, has
received local approvals.

Some of the dispensaries have said they will appeal the rejections in
court, and that may be where this issue will be resolved. As
njspotlight.com columnist R. William Potter has pointed out, New
Jersey courts have ruled that municipal land-use regulations must
promote statewide policies.

Caught in the not-in-my-backyard reaction are the many patients with
ailments such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, epilepsy or multiple
sclerosis who continue to wait for a legal way to obtain the marijuana
that eases their symptoms.

New Jersey has made a promise to these people. Local officials should
help make sure that promise is kept.